The Denver Post: A Denver judge has denied a request from the Denver police union to appoint a special prosecutor in a case involving Chief Robert White and his second-in-command, Matt Murray, who had been accused of breaking the state’s open records law.

District Judge Robert L. McGahey Jr. determined District Attorney Beth McCann did not abuse her discretion in determining whether to pursue criminal charges against the two top cops for alleged violations of the Colorado Open Records Act, according to a copy of his order signed Wednesday morning.

The judge determined the district attorney likely would not be able to convict White and Murray because evidence shows they thought they did not have a copy of a letter the union had requested.

“A negligent or careless search for these documents is inadequate to succeed on the merits of a CORA violation charge,” McGahey wrote.

The Denver Police Protective Association had filed a motion asking for a special prosecutor, saying McCann had given the two chiefs special treatment when investigating allegations that they had knowingly violated open records laws when the union requested a May 2016 letter from a former district attorney who had been critical of Murray’s handling of an internal investigation.